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Cited by 182Fish Ecology and Management StudiesHydropower, Displacement, Environmental ImpactEcology and biodiversity studies

Future large hydropower dams impact global freshwater megafauna

Open access
Zarfl, Christiane, Berlekamp, Jürgen, He, Fengzhi, Jähnig, Sonja C., Darwall, William, Tockner, Klement·2019·Scientific Reports
DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-54980-8PMC PMC6898151
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Abstract

Dam construction comes with severe social, economic and ecological impacts. From an ecological point of view, habitat types are altered and biodiversity is lost. Thus, to identify areas that deserve major attention for conservation, existing and planned locations for (hydropower) dams were overlapped, at global extent, with the contemporary distribution of freshwater megafauna species with consideration of their respective threat status. Hydropower development will disproportionately impact areas of high freshwater megafauna richness in South America, South and East Asia, and the Balkan region. Sub-catchments with a high share of threatened species are considered to be most vulnerable; these are located in Central America, Southeast Asia and in the regions of the Black and Caspian Sea. Based on this approach, planned dam locations are classified according to their potential impact on freshwater megafauna species at different spatial scales, attention to potential conflicts between climate mitigation and biodiversity conservation are highlighted, and priorities for freshwater management are recommended.

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  • Dam building for irrigation is expected to disproportionately impact South America, south and east Asia, and the Balkan region.

    “The availability and quality of freshwater is projected to continue to decline in the future due to extraction for irrigation, drinking water, and energy, pollution, and increased shipping, with dam building for irrigation expected to disproportionately impact South America, south and east Asia, and the Balkan region (59).”

    From Restoring Degraded Lands (2021) · cites this paper as [59]

    The Abstract identifies South America, South and East Asia, and the Balkan region as areas disproportionately affected by dam development. But it specifies hydropower dams and impacts on freshwater megafauna richness, not dams built for irrigation or a general decline in freshwater availability and quality. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Freshwater availability and quality are projected to continue declining due to extraction for irrigation, drinking water, and energy, pollution, and increased shipping.

    “The availability and quality of freshwater is projected to continue to decline in the future due to extraction for irrigation, drinking water, and energy, pollution, and increased shipping, with dam building for irrigation expected to disproportionately impact South America, south and east Asia, and the Balkan region (59).”

    From Restoring Degraded Lands (2021) · cites this paper as [59]

    The Introduction reports that dam construction can affect water use and availability and deteriorate water quality. It does not project an overall decline in freshwater availability and quality caused by extraction for irrigation or drinking water, pollution, and increased shipping. The paper identifies South America, South and East Asia, and the Balkans as areas disproportionately affected by hydropower development, not dam building for irrigation. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Research works printed but not linked: 30

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Sorted by citations

Authors
Zarfl, C., Berlekamp, J., He, F., Jähnig, S. C., Darwall, W., & Tockner, K.
Affiliations
  • University of Tübingen (DE)
  • Osnabrück University (DE)
  • Queen Mary University of London (GB)
  • Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (DE)
  • International Union for Conservation of Nature (United Kingdom) (GB)
  • FWF Austrian Science Fund (AT)
Corresponding author
Zarfl, Christiane
ORCID
Venue
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2019-12-06
Volume
9
Issue
1
Pages
18531-18531
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41598-019-54980-8
PMC
PMC6898151
OpenAlex
W2992404961
Cited by
182
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 19 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 40 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 8
FWCI
12.89
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • Refubium (Universitätsbibliothek der Freien Universität Berlin) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Universitätsbibliothek der FU Berlin Hochschulschriftenstelle u. Dokumentenserver (cc-by)
Funders
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
  • German Federal Agency of Education and Research
  • Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Fish Ecology and Management Studies
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Hydropower, Displacement, Environmental Impact
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Ecology and biodiversity studies
Keywords
hydroelectric dams, threatened species, conservation prioritization, freshwater management, climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, species distribution

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